Bear tears through classic Shelby Cobra on Alaska road trip

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A North Carolina man driving a classic convertible on road trip through Alaska has learned his car is not impenetrable to bears.

Tom Cotter awoke last week to find his red Shelby Cobra with a gaping hole in the roof and claw scratches all over the body — the aftermath of a bear burglary, KTUU-TV reported .

Cotter has been touring the state with a group of friends also driving classic Shelby Cobras. The group stayed the night at the Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood about 38 miles (61 kilometres) southeast of downtown Anchorage.

Cotter received a call the next morning from one of his friends, telling him to go look at his car. The material covering the cab was torn open, and muddy paw prints coated the small car. The value of the car is “approaching seven figures,” he said.

“The top was 53-years-old, it managed to survive all these years but it couldn’t manage to survive 11 days in Alaska,” Cotter said.

The bear likely broke into the car for a snack. A friend of Cotter’s had left a package of Fig Newtons behind the seat.

The damage could have been much worse, Cotter said, thankful that he wasn’t trapped behind the car’s thin aluminum body with a bear pawing to get in.

“My car has a unique story that no other Cobra has in the world,” Cotter said.

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Information from: KTUU-TV, http://www.ktuu.com